土拨鼠节

笪景行

On February 2， 1887， Groundhog Day， featuring a rodent2 meteorologist3， is celebrated for the first time at Gobblers Knob in Punxsutawney， Pennsylvania. According to tradition， if a groundhog comes out of its hole on this day and sees its shadow， it gets scared and runs back into its burrow4， predicting six more weeks of winter weather; no shadow means an early spring.

1887年的2月2日，在宾夕法尼亚州庞斯塔维尼的火鸡丘首次庆祝以啮齿动物气象学家为特色的土拨鼠节。根据传统，如果土拨鼠在这一天从洞里出来看到了它自己的影子，它就会害怕，又躲回洞穴里，这预示着冬天还会持续六周;如果没有影子则意味着春天将早早到来。

Groundhog Day has its roots in the ancient Christian tradition of Candlemas5， when clergy6 would bless and distribute candles needed for winter. The candles represented how long and cold the winter would be. Germans expanded on this concept by selecting an animal—the hedgehog7—as a means of predicting weather. Once they came to America， German settlers in Pennsylvania continued the tradition， although they switched from hedgehogs to groundhogs， which were plentiful in the Keystone State.

土拨鼠节起源于古基督教的圣烛节，那时神职人员会祝福并分发冬天需要的蜡烛。蜡烛表示冬天会有多寒冷和漫长。德国人扩展了这一概念，选择了一种动物——刺猬，作为预测天气的手段。来到美国后，宾夕法尼亚州的德国移民们延续了这一传统，但他们把刺猬换成了土拨鼠，而在基斯通州有非常多的土拨鼠。

Groundhogs， typically weigh 12 to 15 pounds and live six to eight years. They eat vegetables and fruits， whistle when theyre frightened or looking for a mate （theyre sometimes called whistle pigs） and can climb trees and swim.

土撥鼠，通常体重12至15磅，寿命6至8年。他们以蔬菜和水果为食，害怕的时候或者寻找伴侣的时候会吹口哨（有时它们被称为“哨子猪”），还能爬树和游泳。

They go into hibernation8 in the late fall; during this time， their body temperatures drop significantly， their heartbeats slow from 80 to five beats per minute and they can lose 30 percent of their body fat. In February， male groundhogs emerge9 from their burrows to look for a mate （not to predict the weather） before going underground again. They come out of hibernation for good in March.

它们在深秋开始冬眠，在此期间，他们的体温明显下降，心跳从每分钟80次减慢到每分钟5次，并且会减少30%的身体脂肪。二月份，雄性土拨鼠会从洞里出来寻找配偶（而不是为了预测天气），然后再次潜入地下。它们在三月彻底从冬眠中醒来。

In 1887， a newspaper editor belonging to a group of groundhog hunters of the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club from Punxsutawney declared that Phil， the Punxsutawney groundhog， was Americas only true weather-forecasting groundhog. The line of groundhogs that have since been known as Phil might be Americas most famous groundhogs， but other towns across North America now have their own weather-predicting rodents， from Birmingham Bill to Staten Island Chuck to Shubenacadie Sam in Canada.

1887年，庞斯塔维尼土拨鼠俱乐部的一群土拨鼠猎人们中有一位报纸编辑称，庞斯塔维尼的土拨鼠菲尔，是美国唯一能真正预报天气的土拨鼠。后来被称为菲尔的土拨鼠们可能是美国最有名的土拨鼠，但是北美其他城镇现在也有了各自预报天气的啮齿动物，比如伯明翰的比尔，斯塔顿岛的查克，加拿大舒贝纳卡迪的萨姆。

In 1993， the movie Groundhog Day starring Bill Murray popularized the usage of “groundhog day”. Today， tens of thousands of people converge on Gobblers Knob in Punxsutawney each February 2 to witness10 Phils prediction. The Punxsutawney Groundhog Club hosts a three-day celebration featuring entertainment and activities.

1993年，由比尔·默里主演的电影《土拨鼠日》普及了“土拨鼠节”的说法。如今，每年的2月2日，有成千上万的人聚集在庞斯塔维尼的火鸡丘见证菲尔的预测。庞斯塔维尼土拨鼠俱乐部会举办为期三天的以娱乐活动为特色的庆祝活动。